Jo Stewart

In this session, I’ll talk about my experiences of trying to help the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) to improve our legal writing. I’ve been working on it since 2006 in a number of different ways, and have had a lot of opportunities to observe what not to do. We’re now trying to apply some of what we’ve learned to approach the task differently. I’m going to talk a little about the various obstacles, systemic problems, and other hindrances we’ve faced over the years. Then, looking forward and drawing from those experiences, I’ll outline how our new approach deals creatively with some of these seemingly impossible labours – without the need for herculean strength or huge resources. Anyone interested in improving technical writing in an organisational setting will find much to relate to, and may also get some fresh ideas to try in their organisations.